DRINKING WATER
Rural North Texas Community Cuts Non-Revenue Water By 42% With Pipeline Leak Detection Technology
Discover how a city solved its non-revenue water challenge by rapidly pinpointing three hard-to-find leaks in 13 miles of aging pipeline using a free-swimming acoustic tool.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
-
Midlothian, TX, Expands Water Treatment Plant With A Safe, Reliable Disinfection System
When the City of Midlothian, Texas, was ready to expand their water treatment plant to accommodate a growing population, they carefully considered and investigated their water disinfection options.
-
![Keeping UpWith AMI_iStock-661419638]( "A Pathway To Keeping Pace With AMI Technology")
A Pathway To Keeping Pace With AMI TechnologyThe rise of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has been a substantial benefit to municipalities. AMI goes beyond billing data to provide deep insights into water distribution systems and offers utility managers an important tool in delivering the highest quality drinking water. However, that advancement has also generated a significant obstacle. The good news is that a cost-effective and flexible solution is available.
-
The Village Of Frankfort Awarded For Operational Efficiencies Achieved Through The Mi.Net™ System And Meter Replacement
Most recently, Frankfort Village officials decided to replace its water and electric meters and implement an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network to increase the operational efficiencies of its water and electric infrastructure in ways that would help improve employee safety, water and energy conservation and customer service while also reducing operational costs.
-
![Badger Meter]( "BEACON SaaS Helps Eliminate Human Error And Reducing Time Spent In The Field")
BEACON SaaS Helps Eliminate Human Error And Reducing Time Spent In The FieldServicing more than 3,000 residents in the Greenfield Village and Copper Creek subdivisions in northwest Houston, Texas, Harris County Utility District (UD 15) had an aging water metering system with numerous inefficiencies. As a result, the district was experiencing lost revenues and inaccurate meter readings. It was time to replace the system.
-
![PascoCounty]( "The Right Choice For Environmentally Friendly Pipe Installation")
The Right Choice For Environmentally Friendly Pipe InstallationLike several of its counterparts in Florida, Pasco County is a name frequently repeated in the news when it comes to growth.
-
![insertion-valve]( "Insertion Valves Eliminate System Shutdown")
Insertion Valves Eliminate System ShutdownWinchester Municipal Utilities (WMU) faced challenges regarding two separate sections of town. The lines required maintenance due to old inoperable inline valves that needed to be replaced. The challenge - replacing these valves using a procedure that eliminated the shutdown of the water lines that service hundreds of homes and businesses.
-
![GettyImages-186705117_450_300 (002)]( "New EPA PFAS Limits: Why Small Water Utilities Need Not Fear Them")
New EPA PFAS Limits: Why Small Water Utilities Need Not Fear ThemSmaller water utilities may be in a panic over the EPA's proposed federal limits on PFAS, but there are two reasons for these smaller utilities to remain hopeful.
-
![gettyimages-842727238-170667a]( "Embracing An Evolved Maintenance Strategy")
Embracing An Evolved Maintenance StrategyLearn how you can find a permanent, cost-effective solution that offers flexibility, improved safety, and more.
-
Straining To Make Diaphragm Operated Automatic Control Valves Effective
Diaphragm Operated Automatic Control Valves (ACVs) require reasonably clean water to function effectively and reliably. Having a strainer upstream of the actual ACV is very important, but also having a smaller strainer located at the inlet of the pilot system on the ACV is also well advised. By Brad Clarke,VP Sales and Marketing, Singer Valve
-
![Success_Story-Rock_Falls_IL-4]( "10 Years After Installation, Insta-Valve 250 Helps Isolate Repair Area")
10 Years After Installation, Insta-Valve 250 Helps Isolate Repair AreaA previously installed Insta-Valve 250 insertion valve provided control for a fire pump removal without backflow between the water distribution piping and the water treatment facility.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
-
Background And Summary Of Tests For The 2000PV Restraint4/13/2021
The 2000PV is a restraint for PVC pipe and the standardized mechanical joint. This product is the result of years of testing and evaluation and its performance has been proven by thousands of hours of proof tests, as well as third-party evaluations. This report describes the 2000PV through the 12" size.
-
Preliminary Assessment Of Water Quality In Riviera Grise Near Port-Au-Prince, Haiti10/17/2012
The Riviera Grise drains water from the Cul-de-Sac watershed, Haiti, which covers most of the rural areas along the flood plains and areas that extend into steep hillsides. It also covers urban areas of Port-Au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti.
-
Automatic Rinse Tank Controls10/29/2021
Proper rinsing is one of the most important steps in quality manufacturing or metal finishing. Plenty of low cost, good quality water for rinsing has been available in the past, so rinse water conservation has been largely ignored.
-
LC-MS/MS Analysis Of PFAS Extractables In Polyethersulfone Syringe Filters Using EPA 537.15/18/2022
A key consideration for any PFAS method is to avoid contamination that can impact the accuracy of data, including those coming from sample preparation techniques such as filtration.
-
Aquafine Ultraviolet Treatment Systems For TOC Reduction1/29/2025
Aquafine TOC reduction units coupled with ion exchange systems or EDI will oxidize trace organics into smaller ionic species, carbon dioxide and water, which are more readily removed by ion exchange resins, EDI, and/or degasifiers.
-
Network Monitors Water Quality In Shale Gas Drilling Region9/2/2011High-pressure injection of water, sand, and chemicals that fracture shale deposits deep underground to free trapped natural gas is employed by drillers tapping the Marcellus shale beds, a geologic deposit that stretches from central New York to Virginia and contains gas believed to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. By YSI
-
How To Install A Submersible Pump In Discharge Tubes11/28/2012
In the fields of water and waste water technology, submersible pumps represent a viable economic and technical alternative to conventional, dry-installed pumps. In particular, they offer a number of handling advantages during maintenance and installation work.
-
The Basics: Testing RO Quality4/28/2014
Osmosis is the phenomenon of lower dissolved solids in water passing through a semi-permeable membrane into higher dissolved solids water until a near equilibrium is reached.
-
Removal Of PFCs With Activated Carbon12/30/2013
In recent years, various perflorinated chemicals (PFCs) have come under increasing scrutiny due to their presence in the environment, in animals, and in human blood samples. There are two major classes of PFCs: perfluoroalkyl sulfonates such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and long chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylates such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA).
-
Best Practices In Moist And Wet Gas Flow12/20/2021
The Wet Gas MASSter sensor is for use in applications that have a high level of moisture or condensation present in the gas flow stream that cannot otherwise be removed.
DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS
The RPS/DPS 8000 series incorporate the exciting new TERPS technology. TERPS is a resonant silicon pressure sensor technology platform that provides an order of magnitude greater accuracy and stability than current pressure measurement technologies.
Meeting the demand for clean water has never been more challenging. Communities around the world are facing a growing water stress – an insufficient supply, in terms of water quality or water quantity – and often both. Many are turning to potable reuse and drinking water remediation to meet these demands. The TrojanUVFlex®AOP can be part of the solution. This UV advanced oxidation system destroys a range of chemical contaminants while simultaneously providing final treatment, helping municipalities relying on lower quality water sources to continue producing high-quality potable drinking water.
As the latest addition to Hydra-Stop’s award-winning Insta-Valve family of solutions, customers with 20- and 24-inch pipes can now benefit from the only insertable gate valve with the superior performance and reliability you would expect from the Insta-Valve name.
The 14”– 16” Insta-Valve Plus 250 from Hydra-Stop is the next generation of permanent, insertable gate valves offering increased strength, improved performance, and simplified installation and operation.
The Series 1420 CHLOR-A-VAC® affords high efficiency addition and mixing of gases and liquid chemicals resulting in substantial chemical cost savings.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
-
![Digital communication-GettyImages-2042965298]( "Beaverton's New AMI Solution Checks Every Box: Operations, Billing, Service, And Savings")
This Q&A follows the Webinar: Beaverton's New AMI Solution Checks Every Box: Operations, Billing, Service, & Savings hosted by Water Online on October 21, 2025. The webinar featured the leadership team from Beaverton Water Division as they discussed lessons learned across operations, billing, and customer service, offering a 360-degree perspective on implementing and managing an AMI system.
-
![Digital communication-GettyImages-2042965298]( "AI, Data Centers, And Water")
Amid the AI-fueled gold rush, more leaders are beginning to pay attention to the short- and long-term natural resource concerns, especially around all the water needed to keep data centers running.
-
![Money down drain-GettyImages-171578755]( "Is This The End Of Affordable Water?")
Water pricing often fails to reflect scarcity, quality, or long-term risk, forcing companies to act internally. But this action is not being done in a vacuum. The ripple effect of internal water pricing is bound to impact water utilities, and ultimately, ratepayers and consumers. -
![PFAS Label on hundred dollar bill-GettyImages-2193126716]( "PFAS Settlements: Debunking The Myths And Revealing What's Really At Stake For Water Utilities")
Misinformation and confusion could prevent some utilities from benefitting from the aqueous film-forming foam multidistrict litigation (AFFF MDL) settlements. Here are five common myths about the AFFF MDL PFAS settlements and how public water systems can make the most of this unprecedented funding opportunity. -
![0421_Honduras_Barrio El Rosario-0030]( "Safe Sanitation For Students: 2025 World Toilet Day")
Every year on November 19, Water Mission observes World Toilet Day — a day designated by the United Nations to focus on the importance of safe sanitation for all.
-
![energy flow, data transmission, technological connectivity-GettyImages-2240709017]( "2026 Water Utility Outlook: Regulation, AI, And Resilience In The Face Of Scarcity")
Global Water Outcomes expert notes that “water utilities are facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities,” citing the role of digital solutions moving forward.
DRINKING WATER VIDEOS
In Raleigh, N.C., there's a house... or what looks like a house. What's hidden inside is more important than most people realize.
ABOUT DRINKING WATER
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.